Sinn Féin calls for CS Spray investigation

Sinn Féin chair of Strabane District Council, Jarlath McNulty, has called for a breakdown of the areas in which CS spray has been used in the Six Counties after the PSNI used the controversial CS gas for the first time in the town during a disturbance at Abercorn Square in the early hours of Sunday 19 December.

The PSNI used the spray to quell a disturbance that erupted in the town's main commercial centre, in which three people were arrested.

McNulty said there has been no definite assessment of the long term effects of the deadly spray and its usage could not be justified.

He has called for the Police Ombudsman to launch an investigation into the use of the spray in Strabane because the absence of an independent probe would only serve to fuel speculation about the exact circumstances of the incident.

"The Ombudsman should also publish a comprehensive breakdown of the areas in which this deadly weapon has been used because it seems, as in the case of plastic bullets, it is in mainly nationalist areas such as Derry and Strabane that CS spray is being deployed by the PSNI."